A small group in conversation around a reading table

What Participants Have Found at Hearthnest

Honest accounts from adults who joined our reading groups and coaching programmes in Bangsar Baru.

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340+

Participants to date

Years running programmes

4.7

Average satisfaction score

68%

Return for a second programme

From Participants

Edited lightly for length. Names shared with permission.

Siti Lim

Petaling Jaya · Reading Group

"I joined the reading group about eighteen months ago, when I was still a good seven years from any firm retirement date. I was not sure it was the right time. But the conversations turned out to be exactly what I needed — not about numbers, which I have a financial planner for, but about the shape of a day, about what I actually want the transition to look like. The facilitator is careful not to give advice, which I appreciated. He asks good questions instead."

April 2025

Ahmad Tarmizi

Bangsar · Records Coaching

"The records coaching was practical in a way I did not expect. I thought I was reasonably organised, but the first session revealed that my idea of organised was actually 'I know roughly where things are.' By the end of the block I had a proper master folder, a contacts directory, and a household inventory that my wife could use without asking me where anything was. The follow-up note a month later was a small thing but it showed they were paying attention."

March 2025

Wendy Chin

Cheras · Planning Year

"I joined the calendar planning year three months before my intended retirement date, which was probably a little late — I wish I had found Hearthnest a year earlier. The quarterly workshops gave me a framework I had not had before, and the monthly calls meant I actually did the work between sessions rather than leaving it for the next big meeting. The EPF material was particularly useful because the publicly available documents are not always easy to navigate alone."

April 2025

Ravindran Nair

Ampang · Reading Group

"The reading group has become something I look forward to each month. The group is small enough that nobody gets lost. The readings are well chosen — some months I would not have picked the book myself, but I have not left a session thinking the time was wasted. The space in Bangsar Baru is genuinely pleasant, which matters more than it sounds."

May 2025

Faridah Yusuf

Shah Alam · Records Coaching

"I went in a little sceptical about whether a coaching session could really help with something as personal as organising household documents. By session two I had changed my mind. The coach did not tell me what to do — she asked questions and helped me work out what I actually needed rather than what I thought I needed. The travel from Shah Alam to Bangsar Baru for each session is the one thing I would change if I could."

March 2025

Krishnaswamy Pillai

Subang Jaya · Planning Year

"My wife and I both joined the planning year separately — we thought it would be useful to go through the process with our own questions rather than always deferring to each other. By the end we had a shared framework for conversations we had been putting off for years. The facilitators were clear that they were not there to give us advice, and I respected that. It created a kind of safety."

April 2025

Participant Journeys

A closer look at how three participants moved through the process.

Lim Mei Ling — Records Coaching + Reading Group

Kuala Lumpur · 2024–2025

The Situation

Lim Mei Ling was two years from her intended retirement when she realised that she had no idea what documents she and her husband actually held, or where they were. Their household records were spread across four filing cabinets, two email accounts, and a shoebox she described as "the last resort."

The Process

She completed the four-session coaching block over two months. In parallel, she joined the reading group to work through the non-administrative dimensions of the transition. The sessions overlapped usefully — what came up in group discussion often pointed to things she wanted to organise in the coaching sessions.

Outcome

By the end of the coaching block she had a single master folder, a household inventory her husband could read without her present, and a shortlist of three questions to bring to a financial planner she had not yet booked. She has continued with the reading group for seven months since.

"I would not say I am ready for retirement — I am not sure anyone ever is. But I feel much less scattered about it than I did before."

Zulkifli Ariffin — Planning Year

Kuala Lumpur · 2023–2024

The Situation

Zulkifli worked in the public sector for thirty-one years and knew his pension arrangement broadly but had never sat down to understand the household implications of stepping back. He was also uncertain about how to talk to his adult children about inheritance and estate planning without it becoming an uncomfortable conversation.

The Process

He joined the Retirement Calendar Planning Year twelve months before his agreed departure date. The quarterly workshops gave structure to work he would otherwise have deferred. The monthly calls meant questions did not accumulate. The workbook became a running document he brought to a conversation with his solicitor.

Outcome

He retired on schedule. He had booked and completed a consultation with a financial planner, updated his household contacts list, and had one of the family conversations that had been sitting on his list for three years. He credits the monthly calls with keeping the preparation moving rather than stalling after each workshop.

"The rhythm of the programme was what helped. Without the monthly calls I would have done the workshops and then put the workbook away until the next one."

Reach Us Directly

+60 3-2287 4915

[email protected]

22A Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Mon–Fri: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Sat: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Professional Credentials

Member, Malaysian Adult Learning Network (since 2019)
Annual facilitator continuing education, all team members
Community Programme of the Year, Bangsar Baru RA (April 2024)
No commission arrangements with any external provider

Join the Next Session

Reading groups run monthly. Coaching blocks start on a rolling basis. If you have questions before enquiring, we are happy to talk through the options with you.

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